OPERA America Launches Business Innovation Lab
The new R&D Lab will test audience development strategies for opera companies, led by Harrison Lee and Daniel Gomez Seidel.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Opera
OPERA America has launched its Business Innovation Research & Development Lab, supported by a $125,000 planning grant from The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. Harrison Lee and Daniel Gomez Seidel of the NYC Cultural Innovation Lab were selected to lead the effort from a pool of 28 proposals.
Why it matters
The Lab aims to reduce the risk of experimentation for opera companies without dedicated research staff, drawing on R&D practices from business, technology, and service design. It builds on OPERA America's earlier work on newcomer audiences across the United States.
The Lab's initial phase runs through March 2027, with five to seven opera companies beta testing two experimental concepts supported by $25,000 in grants. The Lab will first review results from OPERA America's A/B Testing Grants, which supported 14 companies testing newcomer retention strategies.
The players
OPERA America
OPERA America is the national service organization for opera companies in the United States, supporting the field through research, grants, and professional development.
The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc.
The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation is a philanthropic foundation that has funded OPERA America's newcomer audience work and the Lab's planning phase.
Harrison Lee
Harrison Lee is a co-lead of the R&D Lab selected from the NYC Cultural Innovation Lab.
Daniel Gomez Seidel
Daniel Gomez Seidel is a co-lead of the R&D Lab selected from the NYC Cultural Innovation Lab.
The details
The R&D Lab is designed as an ongoing function of OPERA America and will expand over time to address workforce and leadership sustainability and opera's advocacy and civic relevance. Its work follows OPERA America's Understanding Opera's New Audiences study, published in 2024 in partnership with Arts & Culture at NORC, and a $500,000 newcomer project funded by the Pearce Foundation that produced three reports and three essays.
Timeline
2024: Newcomer study published and $500,000 newcomer project funded.
March 2027: Initial phase of the R&D Lab concludes.
Industry Dynamics
The Lab extends OPERA America's A/B Testing Grants and 2024 Understanding Opera's New Audiences study by turning one-off experiments into an ongoing R&D function. It reflects a broader push across the arts sector to adapt business and service-design methods to audience development.
Opera companies testing newcomer retention strategies could change how and where audiences encounter performances in the coming seasons. Patrons may see new engagement formats emerge from the beta-tested concepts as the Lab's findings are shared with the field.
The takeaway
Opera companies without dedicated research staff can use the Lab's structured experimentation model to test audience strategies at lower risk. Watching the results of the beta-tested concepts offers a practical preview of which approaches may work for other organizations.
What happens next
The initial phase of the R&D Lab runs through March 2027, when the beta test of two experimental concepts with five to seven opera companies is expected to inform the Lab's next agenda.
Further reading
Explore more on the Opera section for context on how companies are reaching new audiences.
More information
Find the OPERA America audience development research hub for the newcomer study and related reports.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Broadway World.
